(Sioux Falls, S.D.)– With all the snow we have on the ground and considering the fact we still have a couple of the snowiest months of the year yet to come, it probably comes as no surprise some area rivers stand a high likelihood of flooding this spring.
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls this (Fri.) morning issued its first flood potential outlook for the upcoming spring.
It takes a number of factors into consideration, including current snow cover, long-term trends, soil moisture, moisture in existing snow cover, and upcoming 30 to 90 day outlooks for temperatures and precipitation.
According to the outlook, there’s atleast a 95 percent chance for minor flooding along the Little Sioux River in northwest Iowa. Chances for a moderate flood along the Little Sioux are 55 percent in the Spencer area and 80 percent in the Linn Grove vicinity. Chances for a major flood along the Little Sioux range from 10 percent at Spencer up to 35 percent at Linn Grove.
The outlook says there’s a 60 percent chance of minor flooding this spring along the West Fork of the Des Moines River in the Jackson and Estherville areas.
The outlook says as much as 30 inches of snow is on the ground in portions of northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota with water equivalents ranging from three to six inches. The highest amounts are in the headwaters of the Little Sioux and West Fork Des Moines River basins.
